Page 199 of Collided

I glare at her. “There fucking isn’t.”

She nods but the tears don’t stop.

Which bothers me.

“Come here,” I mutter.

She takes a step in my direction. It’s all I need.One step. I’ll take care of the rest for you.

I pull her to my chest. My arm locks around her waist and my chin rests over her head. Gently, I tuck her head over my chest. I realize just how perfectly she feels in my arms and against my body. As long as she is here, nothing will hurt her. I’ll make sure of it.

With my other hand, I pry the novel out of her hands and put it over the roof of my car.

“Your heart is racing,” she murmurs, but I hear her. I always hear her even when she doesn’t tell me anything.

“It’s because of you,” I admit, tired of hiding my feelings for her or fighting them.

I’m fucking done.

Hope takes a shaky breath and her body trembles. “I thought we were friends—”

“Not anymore.”

She looks up at me in shock. “Wh-what are you talking about?”

I bend my head to look deep into her light brown eyes which have become my favorite eyes in the world.

When did this fucking happen?

I don’t know and I don’t care.

I cup the side of her face and caress her cheek. That damn blush appears, and I get weak in my knees. “It means that I want to kiss you, touch you, and hold youwhereverandhoweverI want.”

There I fucking said it.

Her eyes widen. “But—”

“I think about you all the time.” I lean my forehead against hers “You’re driving me over the edge of insanity, Rose.”

“I am?” She croaks out, puzzled.

I can’t help but smile. “I fucking swear.”

“Oh.”

“I’ve never felt like this for a girl before.” I swallow hard. “I think I like you.”

She stiffens in my arms, and the black in her eyes dilates crazily.

I rub circles on her lower back, and she starts to relax.

“Yo-you like me?”

My gaze drops to her lips and the urge to kiss her fills my mind. “Yes.”

Her fingers clutch my T-shirt, and I feel her nails scraping my skin. Instantly my body tightens, and my skin turns warm.

Keeping her eyes locked on me, she lifts herself on her tiptoes and catches me completely off guard when she presses her lips against mine.

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